"Duncan, Dave - Seventh Sword - 03 - Destiny Of The Sword" - читать интересную книгу автора (Duncan Dave)

He got a chorus in reply.
"Of course, my lord!"
"Of course, my lord?"
At that moment Nnanji came up the plank, saw the meeting in progress, and strode over at once, homing in on visiting swordsmen like a bird dog. He was wearing his usual eager grin, and it seemed even wider than normal, perhaps because of what he had been doing ashore. He was tali, young, lanky, and very red-haired by the standards of the People. And he wore the orange kilt of a Fourth.
Polini and Arganari glanced at each other and then rose.
"May I have the honor, master..." Wallie presented Nnanji of the Fourth, protege" and oath brother; and after those formalities, he surprised Nnanji by presenting the First.
"Arganari?" Nnanji wrinkled his snub nose as he did when he was thinking. "There was a great hero once by that name."
"My ancestor, adept."
Nnanji thought it was a question and looked puzzled.
"The founder of his royal house," Wallie said to get his protege" pointing in the right direction.
The boy nodded proudly. "The Kingdom of Plo and Fex," he said. "My father has the honor to be the holy Arganari XIV, priest of the seventh rank."
So this Arganari was the oldest son. Polini's problem was even worse than Wallie had suspected.
"There are many great epics about him!" Nnanji declared solemnly. "My favorite is the one that begins..."
After about twenty lines, Wallie laid a hand on his arm to stop him and suggested that they all sit down again.
Nnanji squatted on his heels between Wallie and the visitors. "And of course, Arganari led the tryst of Xo," he said. Then he winked at Wallie and said, "With the topaz sword, the fourth sword of Chioxin!"
That was why the name had been familiar!
"My sword!" Arganari exclaimed proudly.
Nnanji looked at the boy's sword and frowned.
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"He does not wear it," Polini said. "But it is the proudest possession of his house; and when he was inducted into the craft, Lord Kollorono, reeve of the palace guard, dedicated it to him. He is the first swordsman in the dynasty since the great Arganari, so it was fitting, and a most moving ceremony."
Wallie chuckled. "I am sure that you got it off him quickly afterward."
Polini smiled understanding!^ "It would take a great swordsman to wear one of the seven for long, my lord."
"Describe the fourth to us," Nnanji said with a smile.
The boy's eyes shone with pride. "The guard is a golden basilisk, holding a topaz. The basilisk means 'Justice tempered with mercy/ so that is the motto of our house. And the blade is all inscribed with swordsmen fighting monsters on one side, and maidens playing with them on the other."
It is a magnificent weapon," Polini said, probably glad of an impersonal topic in this awkward interview. "I tried it. The balance, the spring—magnificent! Chioxin's reputation was well deserved."
Nnanji turned his grin back to Wallie.
"Something like this?" Wallie asked. He drew his sword and held it out for them to see. The hilt had been behind hs head all mis time, and they would not have had a good look at it.
Polini and his protege^ gasped loudly.
"The seventh!" Arganari shouted. "A sapphire and a griffon! And the pictures are much the same. Is it real? I mean, is it really the seventh sword of Chioxin?"
"Probably."
The legendary sword was having a bombshell effect on the swordsmen. Polini had gone perceptibly pale, and the boy quite pink with excitement.
"But, my lord..." Arganari was turning even pinker.
"Yes?"
"The six swords are famous... me saga has no stories of the seventh. It is said that Chioxin gave it to the Goddess."
"Perhaps the story is not finished yet?" Nnanji suggested, his enormous grin still firmly in place.
Polini and Arganari nodded solemnly, still fascinated by the sword.
11
THE DESTINY OF THE SWORD
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"The griffon is the symbol of royalty. It means 'Power wisely used,'" the boy said, peering at the exquisitely fashioned guard. "It is a very long blade." Polini would use a long sword, being
tall.
"Want to try your luck?" Wallie asked.
Polini blanched. "Of course not, my lord!"
"It is in superb condition," the boy said, his strange way of speaking almost making it a question. "Mine is notched and worn. Just one flaw."
Nnanji nodded solemnly. "That mark was made by a sorcerer's thunderbolt."
Polini and his prate" g6 again exchanged glances, then the boy went back to examining the sword. He pointed at the figures engraved in the blade. "You see the cross-hatching, mentor? It is said that Chioxin was left-handed. On all his swords, not just the seven, the cross-hatching goes from left to
right."
"The devil you say?" Wallie murmured, peering. "Like Leonardo da Vinci? I thank you, novice. I did not know that. Then this isn't a forgery, after all!"